Ethic Inc. Acquires 8,329 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. $PEP

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its PepsiCo stake by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 8,329 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 60,121 shares worth about $8.63 million.
• PepsiCo reported quarterly earnings of $1.61 per share, beating expectations, while revenue rose 8.5% year over year to $19.44 billion. Analysts now expect the company to earn 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share and maintained a share repurchase program authorizing up to $10 billion in buybacks, signaling continued capital returns to shareholders.

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,121 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,329 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $8,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ballast Inc. grew its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 8,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $2,926,000. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $569,000. Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 4,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Price Performance

PEP stock opened at $154.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $211.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.90. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.50.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.06. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 56.61% and a net margin of 9.15%.The business had revenue of $19.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $1.48 dividend. This is a boost from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. PepsiCo's payout ratio is presently 89.32%.

PepsiCo announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PEP. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on PepsiCo from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Argus raised PepsiCo to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on PepsiCo from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.26.

Trending Headlines about PepsiCo

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo announced a new partnership in the UAE’s Future Industries Lab to support SMEs and young Emiratis, reinforcing its innovation and local investment strategy. MoIAT expands Future Industries Lab with new PepsiCo partnership supporting SMEs and young Emiratis
• Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo and TalusAg Renewables announced a low-carbon ammonia agreement, an ESG-oriented move that could improve supply-chain sustainability and appeal to investors focused on emissions reduction. PepsiCo and TalusAg Renewables announce low-carbon ammonia attribute agreement to help accelerate fertilizer decarbonization
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted PepsiCo’s continued investment in China and its focus on international growth, product innovation, and cost discipline, which supports the long-term bull case. PepsiCo to 'continue investing' in Chinese market

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc NASDAQ: PEP is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay's, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.

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